Running a hand through my air as the boy vanished downstairs, I sighed.

Damn it.

Still, this isn't... awful. I don't know how it didn't really cross my mind prior, but I could just... help the thieves. Like, they are good people. It wouldn't even be difficult to blackmail my way into the group, to maintain that particular running joke. Then again, no persona, and... I can't really bring myself to care.

Don't get me wrong, given the chance I'd punch any of the palace owners in the nose. Er, except Futaba. And Sae.

...well, no, maybe I'd punch Sae too.

But none of this really affects me. I'd say that you don't need to be affected to wish to bring justice, but this isn't even my world. It's a game. Awful things happen, but I just feel... detached. This is why rather than trying to get a Persona for myself, I'm trying to guide Futaba to it. I don't think I have the will of rebellion to summon one.

...then again, I somehow used a spell. Still need to wrap my mind around that. And I'm most definitely more resilient than a normal human, though that might be video game logic at play.

And then there's the matter of getting back home... so many questions, and so few answers. I think I understand how Morgana feels, trying to locate answers without a clue of where to find them.

But then again, perhaps Igor could know something? The real one, not Yaldybaldy whatshisname.

But pretty much until the end of the game, he's locked at the bottom of Mementos.

I'm... tired. Three weeks of this. I couldn't eat, until yesterday when I passed out from exhaustion I couldn't even sleep, the only people I can interact with are Metaverse users, but the Metaverse is an extremely dangerous place to me.

What if I just let things go? Futaba has things handled on her end, and it's honestly better the less Takeyoshi sees of this. Just letting the trickster's game snap back to the rail of fate seems like the best idea, when I know how it will end.

I could just... vanish. And no one would be the wiser.

Closing my eyes, I contemplate the idea. Truly just become a ghost, a trick of perception, a-

"You were swept up by the waves of fate, moving against their true course. If you stay the course and don't fight against the current, you will most surely drown."

I feel a gentle pressure on my nose, blue light poking through my sidelines. A rich male voice speaks in my ear.

"The circumstances are much grander than you are, but if my words are reaching you, there may yet be a chance. Chin up. Breathe."

And I was in control again. Opening my eyes, I saw for the briefest of moments an afterimage of a fading butterfly, disappearing from my nose.

"Aww..." I heard a whine, and turned to look at Futaba, who was staring at me with her phone pointed. "It came up blank. I forgot that cameras don't work on you."

"...how long have you been here?" I asked, puzzled as I began recomposing myself.

"Long enough." Came the grouchy reply of the other shortie in the room, the brunette having his arms crossed. "Not only did I have to lie to my grandparents about her, I also had to deal with calming down a panicking teenager and dealing with you sitting there, becoming increasingly translucent and being completely unresponsive until a blue butterfly landed on you. What in the gods' name was up with that?"

I blinked. That... yeah, what had been up with that? My thoughts were going down a negative spiral, and then... the butterfly. I... "Honestly have no idea." I rubbed my forehead. "More importantly, how in the world are you here right now?" I turned to stare back at Futaba.

"Ah, I..." she reached up to touch her glasses. "I don't know. Even with what happened yesterday, after sleeping I felt like an immense weight had been lifted off of me, and I could take on the world. And since you weren't around, I decided that I'd come look for you for a change, rather than you showing up like a ghost, and well..."

"That's fine and all. But how did you know where to go? As far as I remember, I was all but untrackable even to your skills."

"Oh." At that, Futaba poked her fingers together. "Well, I may have installed a tracker on your phone that sends me your position, logs it on my computer, and then deletes itself from appearing."

wha

"...you had my phone for the five minutes it took us to reach the Yongen-Jaya station, woman."

"Can we focus on the important things?" The brunette cut in. "There's the matter of your failed outing. Now that you're no longer all banged up, do you think going to the alternate version of the Diet is still a good idea?"

I blinked. "How much did you two talk while I was out?"

The scowl on his face was clear. "Enough. I will say that I am... extremely interested in getting to see what Miss Isshiki had discovered, to get so brutally swept under the rug."

Futaba's fist was clenched and her knuckles white, but she nodded. "Things made way more sense when explained properly, rather than whatever that was yesterday."

"...yeah, I'm sorry about that. I got way too eager to get you to awaken your Persona."

"There's also the matter of what exactly is it that you did, to miss Sakura. You told me that the Palaces can be used to kill people, but she's very much alive, despite the fact that you told me you went ahead and shut down her palace. Which, by the by, makes it look like you did not need for equipment after all. And why did you want her to awaken her Persona so badly, anyhow?"

I scratched my cheek, pondering exactly how to answer that, before deciding on a half-truth. "The palace contains a physical manifestation of the distortion caused. If you were to steal it away from the palace, then you essentially pull a soft reset on the subject's brain. That, however, leaves them vulnerable to external influence, the effect of which would be mitigated by acquiring a Persona. As for why and how I stole the treasure in the first place... both can be answered in the same way; Futaba's mind was already working against her. I was just trying to help sort things out."

The room was silent for a bit, as they absorbed information and I stewed in my thoughts. Admittedly, the idea of just rewiring someone's brain without their consent was morally dubious, even in the context of trying to help them. And it's not like this happened in canon; Futaba was like, the only person to explicitly ask to have her heart changed. But is knowing that she wanted it enough? What about-

"It's fine," Futaba said, cutting off my train of thought. "I don't really like the idea of someone poking around my head, but it's not like Rat could've asked. I probably would've laughed in his face or gotten spooked off. And this way, at least, the ones that killed my mom couldn't get me like they got her... if I didn't get there first. I don't like that it happened, but it's the best you could do, given the circumstances. Thank you, Niles."

The silence hung heavy in the air for a few moments, before she huffed. "So, uh, we need to go to the Diet so that I don't turn into an NPC?"

"Pretty much. You guys are way too gung-ho about potentially dying, though."

"My life was already in danger before you appeared. At least, now it's going to be my choice." Futaba shrugged.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plus there are things I want to see that are only available in this other dimension of yours."

"Fine, whatever!" I huffed, throwing my hands up in the air. "Let's go get our asses kicked."

And that's exactly what we did, heading to the diet building. To Shido's palace. The second-to-last level in the game.

...fingers crossed for plot armor?

"So this is the shape the mind takes when you are an egomaniac. Fascinating." Takeyoshi murmurs. "I expected both more and less, but all in all, it seems surprisingly cohesive for being the inside of someone's mind."

"Yes. Welcome to the palace of the man who, in the next six months, will become president of the country. Remember that your vote in the coming elections matters, kids." I replied sarcastically, staring down from the edge of the ship. If I tried, I could see little corpses of people, floating in the water.

"...so we're just going to ignore the fact that his vision of the main political building in all of Japan is the country being flooded?" Futaba asked.

"Well, that was kind of the premise." I sighed. The sight of the entirety of Tokyo flooded under a tide of destruction should've left more of an impression on me... but it was fundamentally hard to care when I could count the individual pixels that made up the bodies in the distance.

Of course, Futaba and Takeyoshi, being PS3 denizens, shared none of my detachment. Then again, after we left his house, Takeyoshi seemed to revert to his typical blasé behavior.

If the way Futaba's eyes were narrowed and her hands clenched, however, she was plenty angry. "So, we're here. What else do I need to do to unlock this Persona?"

"Well, I'd kind of had the ball rolling yesterday, made up a little speech in my mind to get you riled up yesterday and all that, but honestly… I suggest you just look down, see the destruction. Every corpse you can spot is a little Wakaba, trampled in the wake of this beast's rise to power."

I flinched for a moment as I saw a vein violently throb on her forehead. If she was mad before, she looked outright apoplectic, now.

"I see." She simply replied.

"You're really good at this riling people up thing, not gonna lie. You'd make for a fine politician." Takeyoshi commented. "But didn't you say yourself that awakening required a trigger, in addition to wanting to defy someone?"

I sighed. "I was hoping to avoid having to come to meet anyone in this place. This is even more dangerous than the places I've been visiting on the regular, and-"

"So it's a bad thing that the owner of this establishment is heading towards us, I imagine?"

I took a sharp breath at that, turning around from the railing. Indeed, the big bad baldy was approaching us, covered in his spiky helmet, captain's coat and with a sneer on his face.

"Well well well. How did this trash wind up on my cruiser? I don't recall ever inviting shitty children such as yourself. I've already had enough of kids for a lifetime with that damn brat that attacked me."

"So you're Masayoshi Shido… and that ridiculous getup must be how you unconsciously express yourself." Takeyoshi adjusted his glasses. "It's interesting, for you shadows to use visual language to define yourselves. Tell me, how's it feel to be only the vile subconscious behind an equally vile man?"

Shido's eyes narrowed. "A child barely out of diapers steps onto my cruiser and thinks that he can insult me however he likes… pah!" he spat. "Children like you should just keep your heads down and follow where I run this country."

"You're running the country into the ground! Quite literally drowning it with your greed, you psychopath!" Futaba shouted back.

"Oh?" He turned to face her fully. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? A miniature Isshiki. I thought you'd have kicked the bucket long ago, but apparently, here you are. I guess what they say about cockroaches is true." Shido sneered.

"You…" Futaba seethed.

"I've no time for trash like you. Boy, come. Rid me of this trash once and for all, since you couldn't manage to do it properly last time." And with that, he turned around and began walking away. Just as Futaba was beginning to follow him, shadows burst forth from the floor and manifested into another shape.

"Yes, Captain Shido." The Black Mask replied evenly, his gaze hollow set upon us.

Cognitive Akechi looked… goofy, I guess. Mask set in a crow's beak hiding his identity from us, lots of pointless belts, a cape that was far too tiny, and his pants and shirt being the negative version of peppermint candy. His clothes were ragged and tattered, and darkness clung to him like a veil.

No, the knowledge that he was able to kick our asses seven ways to sunday did not prevent him from looking bad. I much preferred his Robin Hood look.

"Come, Loki."

Loki cut a different figure. Looking like the metaverse distortion manifested, it hurt to even look at it, with the black and white concentric patterns on its body constantly shifting and the blood-red greatsword that exuded malice. I'd thought it didn't have a face; instead, looking at it up close, it was clear to see a blood-red grin and the horns sticking out of where the eyes were supposed to be.

"You… with that smug smile, and that edgelord-looking Persona. It wasn't even Shido himself who did it, was it? You're his little lapdog. His hitman." Futaba grit her teeth.

The cognitive version of Akechi smiled. I swallowed, gripping tightly the Goho-M I'd pilfered off of Morgana, all that time ago. Just get Futaba angry enough to awaken the Necronomicon, and then we can all leave. Easy as pie. I have no doubts that this guy, despite not being the real deal, could wipe the floor with all of us.

"That is correct. Wakaba Isshiki was one of my early kills, so you have to excuse me for having been so sloppy. But considering that you've been so kind as to deliver yourself with the rest of your friends, we can make sure that little mess up will be easily covered. After all, we can't have other people know of the cognitive psience research she performed."

"You… you truly don't care at all about what you're doing, do you?" Futaba mumbled, looking downcast. "It's as though they're not even people to you."

"I don't. As long as Captain Shido wills it so, I will gladly mentally shut down anyone and everyone that stands in his way." He took a step forward.

"Ugh..." Futaba simply closed her eyes with a sob, and I looked at Takeyoshi uncertainly, as he stood behind us. Was she not going to awaken her persona?

But then, I heard it. Through the headphones on my head, a voice spoke, though not to me. And yet, I could hear it.

"What more will you hear of the words of deceivers? How longer will you be still, refuse to touch with hand the illusion that ruined you?"

"I'm trying!" Futaba gasped. "But… it's all useless… I'm useless…"

"Nothing. You all can die, now." Akechi replied, raising his gun. I interposed myself between him and Futaba, palming a magatama and extending out my baton.

BANG-BANG-BANG! Three shots drove into my chest, and pain bloomed. I couldn't even scream, the air drove out of my lungs with a violent gasp. I still stood, somehow. "Diarama…" I wheezed, thankful for the healing spell as the red spilling out of my chest stopped.

"Will you die, then, to satisfy this man's greed? Will you deny the strength of your heart?"

"What strength?!" Futaba sobbed. "What can I even do here?"

"You need only say the word… accept that which is forbidden to you, defy those that would illude you…"

A surge of power from behind me rocked me forward, taking me off my feet and knocking me to the ground. Thankfully, it seemed like Akechi was more interested in looking at us than firing again.

"So it seems that you both can use the power of Persona… I guess I should be more careful in how I handle you, then." I turned to look at Futaba. The blue flame was burning away at her clothes.

"Unless I stop you here and now, you're going to continue causing mental shutdowns and shifting the blame onto others. You're going to continue doing this to young girls who would have to mourn the death of their parents… every sleepless night I stayed up sobbing because I thought I'd been the one that killed her!"

Another wave of power, and I realized that the smoke grenade had fallen out of my hands, and it was rolling away toward the railing.

The unsecured for small objects railing.

"Every life that you took! The darkness that you wreaked upon this country! Every second that someone else spent in fear, wondering if they were going to suffer a mental shutdown or be caught in the aftermath of one!"

I dashed across the pavement, all but forgotten in the eyes of Akechi and Futaba, trying to reach the smoke bombs in time.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck Futaba stop being an anime protagonist for 2 seconds, please

"AND EVERY SINGLE SECOND THAT YOU MADE ME DOUBT MY RIGHT TO BE HAPPY! TO BE FREE OF THE CONFINES OF MY ROOM AND HAVE A NORMAL LIFE, TO BE ALIVE AT ALL!"

The next surge of power nearly took me off my feet again despite the distance, and it completely launched the bombs off the railing. I stared at them, in despair, as I realized that we were well and truly fucked. I shared a dismayed look with Takeyoshi as he similarly stared off the railing with me. His eyes, previously intrigued, had gotten a deer-in-the-headlights quality.

"I am thou, thou art I...The forbidden wisdom has been revealed. No mysteries...no illusions shall deceive you any longer." Finally, her clothes fully burst into flames, her truth now revealed. However, the spaceship hung in the air threateningly instead of sweeping her up in its tentacles, and Futaba herself, despite being covered in her black and neon green bodysuit- did she just pull out a freaking greatsword?!

"I can promise you this, you piece of trash! You won't get away with this! Come, Necronomicon!"

"...well, I hope that rings true, because, with all the commotion you caused, you just blasted away our escape route," Takeyoshi grumbled though the sharp tap of his foot on the ground revealed just how nervous he actually felt.

"Escape?" Futaba turned around. "I'm not escaping anywhere. This ends, here and now! Let's wreck this loser!"

Baby's first real metaverse fight is against one of the strongest minibosses in the game. Oops?

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